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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Raining Cats & Dogs Tour: David M. Brown - Man vs Cat

It's day two of the Raining Cats & Dogs blog tour here on Gathering Leaves, and today's special guest is Mr. David M. Brown.

David was kind enough to share his latest book, Man vs Cat, with me. I will have a review for that in the near future (Yes, my reviews-to-write list is getting a bit out of control!), but today we have a little Q&A for you all.

Author Interview

David M. Brown

Man vs Cat

GL: Welcome, David! Please tell everyone
a little about yourself.

David: First of all, thank you for hosting me today, Cassie.
It’s a pleasure to be here.

I was born in a mining town in South Yorkshire, England, and
always loved books as I was growing up. However, it wasn’t until college that I
began writing, inspired both by an RPG series, Final Fantasy, and Norse mythology. I started writing fantasy
fiction and spent ten years building the world of Elenchera, which led to 1000
pages of history and notes and 500+ maps. It still gives me nightmares thinking
about it.

Late in 2008 I met my wife, Donna, and she gave me the
confidence to write my first book after I’d spent a long time procrastinating.
Since then I have published four books.

I now live with Donna and our six cats in West Yorkshire,
England.

GL: Now tell us about
your book, Man vs. Cat.

DB: Man vs Cat is
both a fictional and non-fictional account of living with six cats. The first
part of the book is a series of observations of the cats’ behavior with each
story being true, I’m sorry to say! The stories include the ruining of a jigsaw
and measures taken to keep them out of the kitchen bin! The underlying theme of
the book is my conviction that the cats are trying to kill me. This is revealed
through extracts from several pieces of evidence, including minutes from
meetings, interviews and dictatorial speeches.

GL: What made you
decide to write this book and how did you decide on the “journal” format?

DB: I had never owned cats prior to meeting Donna and one
day she decided we were adopting two cats. It was a tough learning curve for me
and it led to monthly blog posts about first two cats, then three, then four
and then six. These blog posts became an online journal of sorts, my way of
coping, a painstaking record of the physical and emotional turmoil the cats
were putting me through. The other feature I blogged about was 36 Lives, which was the name given to a
series of meetings between four of the cats in which they discussed current
affairs. After more than a year of blog posts I decided to combine them into
one book and add some additional material as well. With that, Man vs Cat was born.

GL: Do you have a
favorite cat (we promise we won’t tell)?

DB: That is an evil question and I can only hope my wife
doesn’t read this because she’ll file for divorce within a nanosecond if she
catches sight of this. Each of the six cats has their pros and cons but
probably the least harmful of the bunch is Buggles. He’s just naughty when it
comes to pilfering food but I’ll admit to having a soft spot for him when I
think of his background. He was found on the streets when he was just five
weeks old and when he was rescued he had an eye infection which proved too
severe to be treated. As a result, Buggles only has one eye today but it has
done nothing to impede his ill-discipline!

GL: Man vs. Cat is a super funny, entertaining read. What is the
quirkiest experience you’ve had with your feline companions?

DB: Thank you. It’s ironic really that the quirkiest moment
is one that isn’t in the book as it’s only recently happened. A couple of
months ago my wife treated herself to an iPad, which she loves dearly, even
more than me, but not the cats. Recently, she downloaded some games, not for
humans, but for cats. I wasn’t aware games for cats existed. Each of our cats
have since had a go at a game that involves tapping a moving mouse on the
screen and whenever a paw makes contact with the iPad it produces a splash of
paint so not only are the cats entertained, they paint you a nice picture at
the same time. I’m not talking Picasso or anything but it’s still impressive. One
of the cats—Mr Kain—now looks forward to a daily game of hit the mouse. It’s
most bizarre!

GL: Have you won (or
lost) the battle with the cats over the kitchen counters? (I really want to
know because we’re fighting the same battle with our Zeke!)

DB: Hello to Zeke, another naughty cat! You have my deepest
sympathies here, Cassie. The war over the kitchen counter is still a stalemate,
I’m sad to say. All I can do is keep the cats out of the kitchen when food or
dirty dishes are around. When I’m downstairs I can supervise them but once I’ve
gone to bed there’s little I can do to stop them going on the counter and I
know they have been when I next go in the kitchen. There are often telltale
signs such as items that have moved and even paw prints on occasion. I just
make sure the pots have been done and there’s nothing lying around in packets
that they can try and get into. In terms of this particular war I may have to
concede that is it Man 0 Cat 1.

GL: Well, shucks… I have
a feeling it’s a lost battle here as well.

GL: Do you have any
dogs today or are they forbidden? :-)

DB: We don’t have dogs unfortunately but only because we
don’t have the room for them at this time. If my wife and I had a bigger house
I’m sure a couple of dogs would be made welcome. I find dogs easier than cats.
They’re certainly more loyal.

GL: I think they each
have their pros and cons. We have one of each. But I think our sugar glider
wins the prize. She stays in her cage that has to be cleaned every week or two.
We keep her fed and watered. We talk to her and pet her daily, and we’re all
set :-).

GL: Have you written
any other books? Do you have plans for more in the future?

DB: Man vs Cat is
my fourth book. I have also written a short story collection, Dark is the Day, Dead is the Night (2011),
but my main focus is my series of fantasy stories – The Elencheran Chronicles which currently comprises Fezariu’s Epiphany (2011) and A World Apart (2012).

It’s a busy year of writing for me. I am finishing my third Elenchera novel, Ansel’s Remorse and making a start on a fourth – The Stars Beneath the Parapets. In the
cat world, my wife and I have joined forces to write Charlie’s Bleaklisted Books, a series of reviews from Charlie of
all the great works of literature he considers taboo in his dictatorship.
Finally, work has begun on a new blog – The
Diary of Mr Kain – which is made up of the daily musings of Mr Kain and general
life in our household. You can find out more at http://diaryofmrkain.com Just don’t believe
a word he says!

GL: What is the
number one item on your bucket list?

DB: I love travelling and have many places I want to see in
my lifetime. In 2008 I ticked off two key countries when I saw Australia and
New Zealand in one of the amazing months of my life. My priority now is to go
to Japan. I love everything about the place: the history, the culture, the
scenery and of course the anime. If I could only travel once more in my life I
would choose Japan every time.

GL: I am sooo jealous
you got to visit New Zealand. I think that’s my number one! :-)

GL: What do you like
to do in your free time?

DB: I do enjoy reading and try to read as broad a range of
genres as possible. I love watching films and listening to music as well. Those
are two areas that often help with inspiration for my writing. I also love
being away from cities, out in the countryside where I can wander at my leisure
and clear my cluttered mind. I don’t get those moments often but when I do I
always treasure them.

GL: Where can we find
out more about you, your feline family, and your work?

The following links are the best places to look for me. I’d
warn you not to go seeking out the six cats though. They often make people
regret it.

David Brown could be considered a fantasy fanatic, especially
since he has spent the last 10 years developing a 47,000-year history for his
fictional world of Elenchera. When converting his obsession into literary form,
David commits himself to a rigorous writing and editing process before his work
can meet his approval. Combined with the critical eye of his wife and a BA Hons
in History and English, David's dedication leads him to his goal of inspiring
readers through heartfelt stories and characters.

Synopsis

History has known
many famous cats - Garfield, Mr Bigglesworth, Simon's Cat, the Aristocats, the
Cheshire cat and the Keyboard Cat on YouTube.

In recent years these feline things have
replaced man's best friend as the most popular pet in the U.S. while the
Ancient Egyptians once worshipped them as gods. This was a mistake and I'm here
to tell you why.

Man vs Cat is the story of one man, one woman and the six cats
that changed their lives forever. To the woman they brought love and affection,
to the man they brought sleepless nights, fear, paranoia and even ruined his
jigsaw. Need I say more?